Home Path property/loan

[Thomas Hallensleben]

I am wondering about ways in which I might be able to finance a duplex in Kansas City for a buy-and-hold in spite of being maxed out on my debt to income ratio with my bank.  I am just beginning to build my rental portfolio (I have one townhouse unit that cash flows $400/mo) and now found this duplex for a seemingly great price that I would like to pursue, if possible.  My problem is financing.

Since my existing rental is new (my bank will not accept that rental income until I have had it for one at least one year), it is essentially weighing me down for the purposes of getting another loan. I do have money available for a sizable down payment through the HELOC on my own home, which would also be enough to pay for the rehab costs, which seem--without firsthand inspection of the property as of yet--to be rather low. (Using the HELOC at all conflicts with my desire to fix and flip 2 or 3 properties to build some cash reserves before investing in the next buy-and-hold, but this seems like a deal that might be worth while to investigate further even at the expense of any flips.)

Before I spend time and resources checking out that property, however, I would like to know if there even are any avenues any of you can recommend for financing this deal.  There is no point in me getting worked up about this duplex if I can't move forward with the purchase, after all.

So are there institutions that might consider my rental income even though I have only had a tenant in that property for 3 months now?  Are there other ways to finance this duplex?  (I am thinking more long-term options and not short-term hard money.)  I have heard that HomePath offers financing, too.  Is that right?  How do I find out more about that?  (The HomePath website seemed to simply refer buyers to their agents and regular loan sources.)

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!